UN Human Rights Council: Taliban Restrictions on Afghan Women Amount to Systematic Gender-Based Persecution

In a report released for the 57th annual session of the Human Rights Council, it emphasized that the Taliban have continued to impose widespread restrictions on Afghan women and girls through a series of decrees.

According to the council, these restrictions have "effectively eliminated women and girls' opportunities in public, social, and political life."

The UN Human Rights Council also pointed to the widespread and systematic nature of the control and restrictions imposed on Afghan women and girls, describing it as a form of systematic gender-based persecution.

The report highlighted the severe restrictions imposed on women's freedom of movement, stating that women are required to have a male companion for journeys over 78 kilometers. Additionally, women's employment has been reduced to sectors such as health, primary education, and limited activities in the production and administrative sectors.

The report further stated that on March 20, 2024, the academic year began in Afghanistan, but girls are still barred from attending schools due to the Taliban's ban. The report also mentioned the reduction of salaries for female government employees to 5,000 Afghanis.

While the UN Human Rights Council criticizes the Taliban's restrictions, the group has, since returning to power in Afghanistan, banned girls above the sixth grade from education and prevented female students from attending public and private universities and private schools.

The international community has repeatedly called for the lifting of the ban on women's right to education and work in Afghanistan over the past three years, but the Taliban have so far ignored these calls.